Princeton Interview!

<p>I sent in my app on 15th Dec for RD(preferred deadline for Princeton). Today I got an email from an alumni interviewer of my region and we have fixed an interview in the coming week.
Any tips for the interview- general questions asked?
Should I bring along anything?
Lastly, does the interview play a major role in the admissions process- if it goes too good or too bad?</p>

<p>I haven’t had an interview yet, so I can’t answer your question, but I have a question of my own. Did you have everything in, including SATs, letters of recommendations, etc, before you were contacted?</p>

<p>My interviewer told me that for Princeton the interview is just like a conversation to see if their impression of you is correct. Mine was very informal.</p>

<p>i had a Skype interview (international student!) but it was also very casual and informal. my interviewer was dressed in a white tee and sweatpants. just a relaxed conversation more or less.</p>

<p>Bring a resume to offer your interviewer (they may not want it, but it can be nice to jog their memory afterward). Prepare questions to ask them. Prepare answers to the standard questions (Why do you want to go here? What do you want to study? What do you do with your free time? What would you like to add that your application doesn’t tell the school?).</p>

<p>IMO the two most important functions to Princeton are to keep alums tied to the school, and to present a good image of the school to the applicant.
Interviewers are encouraged to answer questions and talk about their personal experiences at Princeton.
Every year I see disgusted applicants post that all the interviewer did was talk about herself! This is a good time to get your questions answered. Do not worry about being evaluated.</p>

<p>I had my interview today and the interviewer asked me a few questions, but it really is just a conversation! Just relax and be yourself! I have to say, doing an interview is nothing to stress about! I hear that while it counts, it isn’t weighted that heavily unless you are terribly offensive …</p>

<p>My son felt his Princeton interview was his worst one. He was admitted SCEA. His interviewer said, “The interview can’t hurt you.” Take heart; it can’t hurt and if it goes well, it could help. :-)</p>

<p>The interviews are really chill…I met my interviewee at a coffee shop. I was asked the basics (why princeton/major/career goals), but was thrown a few curveballs…I was asked about pursuing analytic or operational engineering (i dont know the exact words he used) and various other factors i hadnt even considered yet as a high schooler. </p>

<p>I remembered coming out of the interview going IM SCREWED, realizing this killed all my princeton hopes.</p>

<p>Danas, the point of the interview is <em>not</em> for alumni to talk about their personal experiences at Princeton. For heaven’s sake, we are not lonely outcasts desperate to reminisce about our college days with teenage strangers. (Think about it!) We do want to know why the applicant is interested in Princeton and what they can bring to the student body. On the official interview report form, alumni are asked to comment on what they perceive to be the applicants’ chances of success at Princeton. You can be sure that any applicant who appears to be merely tolerating the interview or patronizing me doesn’t get a good report from me, and no one whom I’ve ever given a bad report to has gotten in. Whether they would have gotten in without judgement from me I do not know, but there you have it. I don’t do interviews for Princeton to talk about myself.</p>

<p>No intention of being insulting at all.
My message to applicants is to relax. My daughter’s interviewer, who had been at it a while, said she doesn’t think she has any influence. Let’s face it, most applicants are denied. Admissions officers have an active overview of the entire pool and more detailed knowledge of the applicant than does an alum.
My daughter’s interview was not at all positive, and she was admitted. The negative interview, I think, had to do with an unusual educational background that didn’t go down well with the interviewer.
An admissions officer (at another school) commented that the alums always seem to be the most enthusiastic about applicants that aren’t competitive in the application pool.
I personally applaud alums who volunteer their services. The ones I’ve met have all wanted to do a service both for the school and the student.</p>

<p>I had an amazing interview and I was deferred. It doesn’t really matter, just relax and be yourself. Plenty of people whose interview went poorly got admitted. Because that hints at something else rather than the importance of the interview, I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>